What is the price of bitcoin today?
As of 8 a.m. ET, the price of bitcoin, or 1 BTC, was $67,905.05. The crypto’s highest intraday price in the past year was $73,750.07 on March 14, 2024.
Bitcoin price chart
The above chart pulls data as of 8 a.m. ET daily. It doesn’t display intraday highs or lows.
Bitcoin price history
*The return comparisons are as of 8 a.m. ET.
Bitcoin’s all-time high was on March 14, 2024, trading at $73,750.07 per bitcoin. The lowest intraday price that the crypto traded in the past year was $27,130.47 on Oct. 16, 2023. The original crypto is up by 139% year over year.
BTC had very humble beginnings when it was launched in January 2009. Since then, the world’s first cryptocurrency has completely shifted global financial markets and amassed a global market capitalization of $1.34 trillion.
The crypto is also becoming a popular alternative to government-backed fiat currencies, such as the U.S. dollar, which tend to lose value over time due to inflation.
What is bitcoin? And how does bitcoin work?
Bitcoin is known for its blockchain network and decentralized ledger that tracks transactions. The crypto has been used throughout the financial industry. Its network allows users to make transactions without a major bank or government intermediary.
Transactions are recorded on the blockchain and visible to everyone. Miners maintain the blockchain by solving complex math problems to validate transactions. This creates new blocks on the blockchain. Miners receive BTC payments for their work.
Bitcoin became a proof-of-concept mechanism that led to thousands of imitators. Since its launch, thousands of cryptos have come onto the scene.
How is bitcoin’s price determined?
Because bitcoin does not represent ownership of tangible assets and does not generate earnings, revenue, or cash flow, its price is determined exclusively by supply and demand.
Bitcoin’s network automatically releases new bitcoins to miners each time they verify and add a new block of transactions to the blockchain. The total supply of bitcoin is capped at 21 million BTC.
Given bitcoin’s fixed supply, demand is the primary variable determining its price. This demand fluctuates mainly based on investor sentiment.
Bitcoin’s starting price
The first recorded bitcoin price came in late 2009 when users in the BitcoinTalk online forum exchanged 5,050 BTC for $5.02 via PayPal. This transaction valued bitcoin at about $0.00099 per BTC, or about one-tenth of a cent.
Bitcoin halvings
The reward miners receive for validating new blocks is reduced by half every 210,000 blocks. It’s a process known as halving.
This built-in pay cut limits bitcoin’s supply and supports its price.
Does bitcoin halving increase BTC’s price?
Slowing the rate at which miners draw bitcoin should drive prices higher. But there’s no guarantee it will play out that way in the markets.
Historically, BTC prices have followed certain cycles around halving events. Prices have typically bottomed about a year before a halving. Then they rise for more than a year after a halving. But these patterns aren’t set in stone.
Bitcoin price history
2010 – 2019
The first bitcoin exchanges launched in 2010. BTC grew to over $1 by 2011.
It took another two years for the next thousandfold increase. The price of BTC pushed past $1,000 by late 2013.
Prices continued to snowball from there. In November 2017, they exceeded $10,000. The following month, when CME Group announced the first bitcoin futures contracts, prices cleared $20,000.
But 2018 saw a reversal, with prices falling under $4,000.
2020 – 2024
The crypto soared during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. A combination of government stimulus funds and low interest rates helped boost bitcoin.
But interest rates started rising in 2022, prompting a price drop. That decline exposed some cracks in the crypto industry, including overextended companies. The result was a string of layoffs and bankruptcies that likely dragged prices down.
Prices rose again in 2023. On March 14, 2024, BTC hit a new intraday high of $73,750.07.
How to buy bitcoin online
Binance, Coinbase and Kraken are popular cryptocurrency exchanges for buying BTC.
You need a digital wallet to store your crypto. Private keys lock these wallets. Only people with the keys can use them to trade or store crypto.
Some bitcoin wallets are hardware wallets that look like USB drives. Others are software wallets that use apps on smartphones or other devices to store BTC.
Wallets are also divided into hot and cold options. Hot wallets are connected to the internet, which makes them more convenient but less safe. Cold wallets aren’t connected to the internet, offering more security but less convenience.
Read more: How to buy bitcoin
Bitcoin ETFs
Bitcoin exchange-traded funds offer a way to speculate on bitcoin prices without buying bitcoin directly.
In January 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved several bitcoin spot ETFs. They trade on exchanges like stocks and hold actual bitcoin.
These ETFs signal the increasing acceptance of crypto in the financial world.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Bitcoin is identified with a ticker just like a stock. Traders use BTC to identify bitcoin on exchanges. One BTC equals one bitcoin.
The value of one BTC was $67,905.05 as of 8 a.m. E.T.
